"Our national deer caught in the national headlights."

For a small photography project we were asked to choose a person/icon who we admired (i use the word admire very lightly) and to produce a portrait photograph visually describing them.

I always seem to try and push the boundaries of what the brief requires, never being fully happy with just the obvious, somewhat tedious option.

Towards the departure of Bush's time in office there was a quote about him; describing him as "America's national deer caught in the national headlights." It was maybe one of the most honest descriptions of a man who is portrayed as a wreckless, power-crazy president.

I don't want to get too deep into political arguments but i find him as a subject very interesting. One of the most controversial figures of our generation, after being slaughter by the press and ridiculed infront of the whole world will this, how he is portrayed right here change? Will he always be remembered as this animal caught in the headlights of his own country. Yes..probably (almost definitely).

Will this picture pass as a suitable portrait picture for the project..probably not!

Back to the drawing board.

Untitled

Lately Ive been experimenting with editing pictures, putting them back together and re-building a new image. Ive found the simplest ideas work and are more successful without having to butcher the original.

Loch Tay

A few of the many pictures taken on my camera on a trip to Loch Tay. We had a few days break from the city and took a drive up through the highlands - visiting a ton of the touristy areas like Queen's View, Loch Lomond, Rest and Be Thankful and driving back along the West Highland Way before hitting the motorway.
This was the first time that I've used my camera on the manual settings rather than automatic and I'm pleased with some of the end shots - it was a nice change capturing dramatic landscapes and quirky towns instead of the usual streets and alleys. Some of my favourite aren't here as I've set myself a bit of a project over the next month, so you might see them soon!

Guitar Project

As promised here are some pictures of my guitars I've been working on over summer. Its been a nice change to do something productive and be able to use it every day, Ive also learned alot about guitar making and probably owe this to Naomi's Dad who puts up with me in his workshop most days. Ive also bought a bass which I'm enjoying playing for a change, and a surf green strat I'm planning on buying better parts for, and giving away for a present. I also have my epiphone ES-333 semi acoustic which plays real nice and suites alot of music i tend to play these days, and a few acoustic guitars thrown in-i get the feeling im just not going to be able to stop buying guitars with every last bit of money i have, of course there more important than food, as long as we can all live on cups of tea.
Fender Stratocaster_ this was my biggest project over summer i had previously had the strat body (black gloss finish) for many years from an old guitar i use to hate playing, the action was so high, probably the result of a cheap buy. I wanted a vintage feel to this guitar, i re-sprayed parts of the guitar that weren't upto scratch, replaced the bridge, pickups, scratch plate, backplate, completely re-wired, replaced the neck with a beautiful fender maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, replaced the machine heads, and new strings of course. This was by no means cheap, it probably cost me the same it would to buy one but i did manage to get a few bargains thanks to sneaky last minute bids at eBay!

This was my first ever guitar, just a really cheap strat, my plans for this guitar was to give it a nicer neck, maybe a few Seymour Duncan pickups but i couldn't bring myself to touch it as even tho Ive have a few guitars now, everytime i pick this one up, its plays amazing and takes me back to when i was 12 learning in my bedroom struggling to hold the thing. Admittedly i have a sticker fetish so went a bit mad and covered it with everything that reminded me of why i like guitars in the first place, bands that got me into music like rancid, distillers and the cure. I have another guitar lined up that I'm planning to completely spray white and apply my illustrations to, but im going to make that an extended project with no rush to finish.